General of the Storm
by mind of a madman
Summary: Tatsumi loses his home and everyone he cares about and almost loses his life as well when his home is attacked. When all hope is lost and he has nothing else to live for, he gains a new power that allows him to continue on. A what if, where Tatsumi joins the imperial army first.*Warning* I'm not really sure how long I'll be writing this, but I did rate it M just in case.
1. prologue

_**Prologue- One With the Storm**_

" _Where am I?_

The young child thought as he found himself surrounded by darkness.

" _It feels like I'm falling, sinking in a pit of nothingness"_

 _ **You must survive…**_

" _Father…?"_

The child's head began to ache as he tried to remember.

 _ ***screams***_

 _ **Come on we need to move…**_

" _I hear their screams and my father's voice"_

 _ **Never forget…Tatsumi**_

" _Oh that's right…they're all…"_

 _ **-1 hour earlier-**_

"Hey, dad!" A 9-year-old Tatsumi yelled out as he ran over to his father, freshly killed game in had "check it out, not a bad catch huh?" He said presenting the recently slaughtered Danger beast about the same size as his own body to his father.

"Not bad Tatsumi, but you still have a long way to go before you can be a challenge for your old man." His father said as he pointed to his own kill which was easily three times bigger than his son.

"You always have to show off don't you dad" the boy responded sticking his tongue out at his father.

"It's not about showing off, it's about showing you that there is always room for improvement, to grow stronger." He said as he hands Tatsumi a carving knife "Feel like doing the honors?"

"Of course!" He said as he took the knife from his father and started cutting apart their respective catches

"After you're done we should head back, looks like another storm is going to be coming through soon." he said while looking at the progressively greying sky.

"Alright" Tatsumi responded still cutting the bodies apart.

To him life was simple, his tribe lived on an island outside the capital far from the mainland and their conflict. They lived in a village surround by a thick forest were they killed danger beast for food, they would go to the beaches on the island to fish, and would trade with other tribes for things they did not have. All and all it was a normal life to live for one who grew in such an environment to have and one that the child was content with. However, today was when his life as he knew it would end.

"Alright, I'm done." Tatsumi said cleaning off the carving knife.

"Good, let's get everything loaded up on the cart and move before the rain comes bearing down on us." his father said as he helped pack everything up.

As they made their way back to their village the storm had finally come in and the rain started coming down. In response they hurried their pace back, not wanting to get rained on more than they had to.

"Move it old man, we can't keep mom waiting" Tatsumi yelled as he rushed off ahead.

"That little squirt." his father said with a smile as he watches him run off.

It was supposed to be like any normal day, he and his father go haunting and come back like always. Being greeted by the familiar faces in the village like always. Seeing his mother again like always. So when he came to the sight of his village burning and the smell of death and the air his heart understandable sank in an instant.

"Mother…" he gasped out as he ran straight for his home trying his best to ignore the corpses lying about. The sight wasn't pretty when he reached their hut, like every other place in the area, it too was set ablaze. Deciding that it would be foolish to go searching through a burning house Tatsumi moved to the center of the village to look for his mother there and what he saw brought him to his knees. In the center of everything was a veritable forest of bodies; corpse tied to pikes with flesh ripped off, limbs missing, and guts spilling out, they were all the women and children of the village and amongst them was Tatsumi's mother barely recognizable.

"Tatsumi look out!" he heard his father scream, but he couldn't move, he was in too much shock to do anything.

Then everything was a blur to the child after he heard his father yell he felt something grab him and move him out of the way before a pain induced shout followed. Then he felt himself being carried away, the heat of the flames and the stench of death slowing dissipating as the got father from the village, but the smell of blood never leaving his senses. Then they momentarily stopped and he heard his father, who he just now realized was the one carrying him the whole time say.

"Shit! They even burned down the fishing boats"

The rain began to pour more violently as thunder could be heard from above and lightning flash in the sky. Then Tatsumi felt himself moving again, but where too he did not know. He heard something fly through the air, despite the raging storm going on around him and heard his father shout again as he felt the man's legs begin to buckle.

"*pant* *pant* thank the heavens" he heard his father say under his breath as the stopped again.

Tatsumi felt himself get set down by his father, but for some reason, the ground beneath him felt as if it were rocking back and forth. Looking down he notices he was a makeshift raft the was already floating in the water, after seeing this he finally looked at his father, the man was cover in blood with cuts and bullet holes riddling his body, yet he kept a smile on his face.

"This looks like the end Tatsumi, it would seem we've been wiped out….but so long as one of us survives then I can die knowing that we in some form lived on"

"Dad…" Tatsumi final spoke.

"Live Tatsumi, survive for everyone else who died this day and never forget where you come from" his father then cut the rope that connected the raft the mainland, allowing it to begin floating away.

"DAD!" the child shouted as he was dragged farther away from the man.

"You must survive!" the man shouted to his son as his son watch as people began to draw close behind him.

The last thing Tatsumi saw as he was swept away was his father being impaled by several men and his blood dye the beach sand red.

So there he was, a child adrift in the sea, the waves crashing into his poorly constructed raft that was quite clearly made by one of the children in his village who was learning to build them; The storm that roared overhead as unforgiving as the people that murdered his tribe. He had lost everything, his friends, his home, and his family; so when he saw he was approaching a large whirlpool directly in front of him, he didn't panic or fret, for he was completely content with losing his life too. And so he was dragged under, with the only sound to soothe his aching soul being the sound of the thunder, which slowly died down as he sank farther and farther below the water.

….

…

..

" _It's so cold here."_ He thought to himself

" _Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore…I think I'll go to sleep…now"_ and with that, he closed his eyes and let the sea claim him, however as he didn't so he couldn't help but feel oddly calm.

The first thing he felt when he came to was heat, which was odd considering that the last time he was conscious he was sinking into the cold ocean abyss, confirming that he was still somehow alive he crack his eyelids open slightly as to not blind himself with any potentially harsh light he could be met with. When vision cleared and he was sure his body wasn't in any serious pain he opened his eyes, pick himself up a bit and took in his surrounds. When he looked around he found himself in a room that was lined with teal columns that led down a large hall; the floor below was made of a similarly colored brick and provided a clear pathway for the nine-year-old to follow. Seeing nowhere else to go Tatsumi got up and began to make his way down the stone path.

As he walked down the hall he noticed wavy reflective light shimmering on the brick pathway he traveled along and curiosity took hold so he went to go investigate. Walking closer to one of the gaps between two of the columns that ran along the brick way Tatsumi got closer to what he assumed would be a wall but as he touches it he felt his hand get moist.

"huh!?" he quickly retracted his hand upon feeling the sensation and looked at it.

"wait, this is…" he poked his finger into the wall and felt as it just passed through slightly "water?"

' _Interesting, so my senses don't deceive me, someone is in my temple and it's a human no less'_ said a voice to the boy.

Upon hearing this voice Tatsumi spun his head around "who's there?" but he saw no one.

' _Who I am can wait, however since you are here and not dead it must mean that you have resonated with my power; very interesting'_

"Look I don't know who you are or where I am, but I've been through way too much today to listen to some voice ramble on, so if I'm alive then tell me how to get out of here and if I'm dead and you're some sort of reaper then claim my soul and be done with it" The said irritated.

' _HAHAHAHA! Well, aren't you a feisty one. Very well, I like your attitude so I'll help you, just continue down the hall of my temple and I will give you the power to escape this underwater prison'_

Now normally when a disembodied voice says it will help and tells you to go to some specific place that you have no knowledge of, not that it happen often or for most people at all, you typically don't oblige them which even Tatsumi knew despite his young age. Despite this, he felt as if he could trust this voice and besides it's not like he had anywhere else to go, so with no other choice he walked down the hall as he was told. Reaching the end the walkway Tatsumi was now in front of an archway that led into a very spacious room, the floor of the room being made of the same teal color stone as the columns and brick path he saw before, however, the stone here seemed to glow and every so often Tatsumi can see a bolt of electric energy spark off of it. In the center of the room looked to be some kind of pool of glowing liquid and in the center of the pool a pole of some kind stuck out. The room itself was surrounded in a dome of water and Tatsumi could feel a strong breeze coming from within the room.

"I'm here, so now what?" he asked.

' _Good you made it, it looks like you're at least smart enough to know how to go in a straight line'_ the voice that now had a very defined feminine tone to it patronized the child.

"Get on with it or I'm leaving, you're wasting my time with your provoking"

' _You have a point and the faster we get this over with the faster we both leave *whisper* if you survive that is'_

"What was that?" Tatsumi asked after he swore that she just said something under her breath.

' _Oh nothing you need to worry your pretty little head over, the next part is simple, just walk over to the glowing pool and claim that weapon as your own, do that and you may leave"_

"Is that really all I have to do?" he asked with not just a little bit of skepticism.

' _Yes that's all you need to do'_ the voice confirmed.

"Fine then." Tatsumi said as he began to take his first step into the room, just as his foot was hitting the floor.

' _Oh, I probably should have warned you….'_

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" and as his foot made contact with the ground he let out a blood-curdling scream as electricity coursed through his body.

' _This is going to hurt'_ the voice said in a tone that sounded as if she was taking great pleasure in the child's pain.

The shock ran its course, Tatsumi's legs buckled slightly but he held strong and stayed standing.

' _Look at you, you took that well despite your age, you may be worthy yet'_ the voice said in a very condescending tone.

"You bitch" he panted out.

' _Now now, watch your language young man, you're still a child'_

Tatsumi felt a rush of breeze at his back and turned to see a power wall of wind was now blocking the way out.

"No escape…" He said as he looked at the wind blocking the path out, the current so strong it looked like it would tear him to shreds if he attempted to touch it.

' _Well, it looks like you get what you want. If you can reach the pool and claim the weapon then you will live and escape this place…but if you don't then you die and I really will be the reaper that claims your soul and believe me when I say I will savor every bite'_

If one could give a disembodied voice a death glare, then one would imagine it to look like something akin to the expression Tatsumi gave now, but he was trapped now and he had no other way to go but forward; so with no real choice he pressed on. The glowing pool the boy had to reach was only about 10 meters away, but every step he took to reach it was pure agony. With each step he took the lighting infused floor would send a current raging through his body, with each shock being far worse than the last. By the time he had took his 15th step his body let out a plum a steam and his skin starting showing visible burn marks. By 25th step he felt as if he would lose control of his bladder, his muscles involuntarily twitched, and he felt as if he would pass out; which he knew if he did he would surely die. All of this was made worse by the strong wind current that flowed in the room that, although did not push him in any way, made him painfully aware of the tingling sensation his skin now had and of the burns that were now starting to blister. By the time Tatsumi reach the glowing pool he was barely standing, he could not get his muscles to relax, he had burns all over, and he could have even sworn that his heart stopped beating a few times during the whole ordeal only to be jump-started once more by another shock.

*pant pant pant* the boy could hardly breathe, but he was grateful to be in the water as he soothed his burning feet.

' _Well color me impressed, you've made it…well? What are you waiting for? Take the weapon if you want to leave'_

"…. …. …." Tatsumi tried to speak but no words would come out, despite not being in any immediate danger anymore he still had one foot in the grave. With weak steps he trudged through the water and made his way over to the pole that stuck out of the pool. Upon closer inspection the pole was actually an intricate looking trident, with a handle that looked to be made of some dark grey marble with serpent made of silver steel coiling around it from base to tip; the blades on its head were made of the same silver as the serpent. Tatsumi took the trident in his gasp and expected resistance from the weapon that was roughly 3 to 4 times his size but was presently surprised when it came out in a single tug despite his lack of strength at that moment.

' _It would seem you are indeed worthy'_ The voice said as the water in the pool started to move and gather around Tatsumi's body, covering him, healing his wounds, and then covering near his mouth and nose. As the water got to the two main orifices on his head it started to flow into his mouth and nose forcing him to swallow, he would have tried to stop this but he realized too late that he could not move. Next, the wind in the air and the lighting that charged stone in the room followed suit with the glowing water and began soaking into his body.

' _I guess introductions are in order, I am known as 'The Cry of the Storm' Ran, I will be under your care from now on master; so do please take responsibility for claiming me'_ she said in an almost seductive tone.

Once everything was absorbed into, his body Tatsumi allowed a smile to come to his face as he felt the power course through him "Tatsumi, I hope we work together well" he said as a bolt green lighting crackled off of his similarly colored iris.

 _ **-A Year and Half Later-**_

Off the coast of the mainland where the capital lies two imperial soldiers are on guard near one of the ports.

"So have you heard the rumor that's been circulating?"

"What rumor?"

"That there is a child that apparently walks on water followed by an army of about 20 to 30 super class danger beast that has been going around island to island asking for directions to the capital"

"Oh that, do you really believe that bull crap?"

"Are you saying you don't?"

"Who would? It sounds like some made up story that the uneducated people of the country would come up with"

"I'm telling you man there have been way too many reports of this coming up for it to be just some basely rumor, they even say that a sign that he is near is that the weather will instantly change and become rainy when he comes close"

"Well I'm still not buying it"

As he finishes saying that the clouds around them instantly grow darker and a light drizzle begins to fall from the sky.

"Huh? It didn't show any signs it would be raining earlier"

"Look…the ocean"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"

Coming towards them was a large horde of sea and air fairing danger beast head straight for the coast and walking in front of them all was a young child who was only dressed in a pair of swimming trunks, he had long brown hair that went down his back and a trident in his hand.

"Just a rumor huh?"

"Oh can it"

They watch as the child walked onto shore and ordered the danger beast to stop where they were.

"Now if I followed where that woman told me, then this should be where the capital is." The boy said to himself

"…."

"I'll just be happy when I can get this haircut"

"…"

"Well I don't care if you like it long, it's annoying"

While the boy spoke to himself the guards slowly began to back away, hoping to be able to call back up just in case this child was a threat. But before they got anywhere he turned his head to them.

"Excuse me you two" he got called for their attention forcing to look back "you're both imperial soldiers right?" where is the capital?"

"I-it's that way" one of them pointed north.

The child turned his head in the direction his finger pointed "I see, well thank you for the directions" he then turned back to the danger beast that still waited behind him "you may leave until I call upon you next, that means that you're not allowed to die until then, got it?" They nodded before going their separate ways. The boy then flew off at high speeds towards the capital.

"We may have just sent trouble the capitals way"

"You think?" he said sarcastically.

Despite Tatsumi's ability to fly it still took him several days to get to the capital and when he finally arrived he was met with a depressing sight. For all of the people walking around in the capital, none of them looked all that happy, of course despite their depressed state they all still took the time to stare at the half naked child wield a trident for larger than he. Tatsumi roamed around until he finally reached the place he was looking for.

"Say that again, I don't think I quite heard you." an imperial officer asked the child.

"I want to join the imperial army" Tatsumi repeated himself.

"Ahahahaha move along kid, we don't have time for a pipsqueak like you, come back when you are a few years older shoo shoo" He said as he waves his hand at Tatsumi commanding him to leave.

Instead, Tatsumi did the complete opposite and head straight towards the palace.

"If you won't help then I'll just ask someone higher up the latter"

The soldier got in Tatsumi's way "You damn brat didn't you hear what I saAHHHHHHHH!" The man screamed as Tatsumi stabbed his eye out with ran; the eyeball itself be ripped out and stuck to one of her points as Tatsumi walks past the man again who was now doubled over on his knees screaming obscenities.

"Next time you try to act superior to someone else I recommend that you make sure they actually think you are threatening or next time you're liable to lose more than just your eye" Tatsumi swung ran and flung the eye off her blade, making sure it landed in front of the man; while he continued on his way he couldn't help but that he was being watched.

….

Tastumi then met with another imperial officer who was much more compliant when it came to helping him. He took him to see some child with green hair who looked to only be 6 years old and some chubby older man who was in the middle of eating a piece of meat when he saw him. He later learned that the boy was the Emperor of the capital and the man at his side was his advisor and that they had already gotten news of what Tatsumi had done to the first man he met at the gate. The advisor, who went by Honest, said that the capital had heard a rumor of a boy who traveled with a pack of power danger beast and that they intended to search for him at some point, so when he decided to seek them out himself the fat man couldn't have been happier. So, in the end, Tastumi was inducted into the army, given a room to sleep in, and was instructed to meet up with someone named Budo to start his training. He had just gotten changed into his new uniform and was walking back to the barracks when he heard someone speak to him.

"I'm started to think the empire enjoys taking in children as soldiers"

Tatsumi turned to see a girl about 3 to 4 years older than him leaning against a wall in the hall he was in. She had long blue hair, blue eyes, and wore a white and black uniform that comprised of a skirt, coat, knee-high boots, and a cap. She gave him a warm smile but her eyes where that of a predator that was stocking its prey.

"You must be an imperial soldier as well then….jeez then why was the first guy I met so stuck up if there was already someone close to my age here." Tatsumi said more to himself than to the girl in front of him.

"He was probably just a fool who couldn't tell at a glance that he was outclassed, to be frank, he deserved to lose his eye" the girl spoke once more.

"I guess you have point" he agreed.

"So what's your name?" she asked.

"Tatsumi, it's nice to meet you." he said smiling at the girl despite the uneasy feeling she gave him.

"I'm Esdeath and I do hope we can get along"


	2. chapter 1: Tatsumi vs Budo?

**A/N: I'm back and first let me say thank you so much to everyone who read the first Chapter, I honestly didn't expect this to get as much support as it got in less than 2 weeks. I read all of the reviews and for those few of you that have questions about the story I'll address them in the authors note at the end. For now I hope you enjoy this next part.**

* * *

 _ **The Training Begins-Tatsumi vs Budo?**_

Yesterday, for the most part, was pretty uneventful to the newest (and more than likely youngest) recruit to the Imperial army. After he joined the empire he received his uniform, which consisted of a pair of black shorts, a short sleeved white t-shirt which he choice to forgo putting on, a black long sleeved zip-up jacket with a hood that he left un-zipped, and his own personal addition to his look a pair of spartan sandals (since he hated having his feet too restricted in any way and would go bare foot if he really wanted, but thought better of it at that moment). Like the T-shirt that was provided for him the armor too was omitted from his attire, as the boy had long since grown accustomed to letting his body breath and also saw no real need for it, in his case at least. After getting changed and giving himself a once over he left the room that he was escorted to within the palace to fix his state of dress; which hardly changed with only the addition of a jacket and sandals, the boy was greeted by someone else, a girl who was a few years older than him named Esdeath. The older girl seemed to be a nice enough person from what Tatsumi could tell; even going out of her way to show him around the capital since he was still new to it. All and all his first day was pretty easy…well mostly.

The next morning was odd to Tatsumi as he woke up to the unfamiliar surroundings of his personal room, which was just a glorified separate shack that was converted into a private barracks; but Tatsumi got his own room so he wasn't about to complain. The reason he had even received the small shack as a living quarters in the first place was because of how some of the other soldiers treated him in a 'less than positive' way because of the boy's age. It also didn't really help that he stabbed out one of their comrade's eye, which to Tatsumi's surprise meant that some people actually liked the prick. Now normally in a situation like that Tatsumi would have complained about this unfair treatment to one of his superiors and had gotten the issue sorted out that way, but he knew the situation he was in and understood how most of the older members of the army saw him, and so he figured that if he did send in a complaint it would be seen as nothing more than a child whining about something they disliked. So with no other choice available to him Tatsumi proceeded to beat the ever loving hell out of every member in the barracks that tried to make his life shit on his first day there without even using ran's abilities.

Needless to say that whole situation didn't end well for those on the receiving end of the child's beating and Tatsumi was given separate lodging because of it.

Getting up, Tatsumi swiftly got ready for his first real day as a soldier. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and got dressed in his uniform. After that was taken care of he looked at himself in the mirror and sighed.

"*sigh* and I couldn't get my hair cut shorter why again?" he asked as he touched his somewhat shorter brown hair.

' _Because I told you I like your hair long like that, I think it makes you look quite adorable'_ Ran told him.

"And I told you that it was annoying" Tatsumi said as he began tying up his moderately lengthed hair into a ponytail.

' _It's called compromise dear, it's something that is very important to have in any relationship. You wanted your hair shorter and I wanted you to keep it long, so when you went to the barbershop yesterday we found a common middle ground'_

"But it's my hair! Why should I have to compromise anything when it's mine? And why do I still feel like I got the short end of the deal? I still want it cut shorter while you're completely content with it all" Tatsumi said in a more frustrated tone.

' _Isn't that how every healthy human relationship is like? The male gives more to the female and insures that her wants are satisfied least he faces her ire?' Ran questioned._

Tatsumi took a moment to think that over and thought about all the times his mother would get mad at his father. Whenever that did happen his father would go above and beyond to get back on his mother's good side….in fact, now that he thought about it every married man or man that was in a relationship period in his village was much the same. This thought made a small bead of sweat roll down Tatsumi's face once he realized how whipped most of the men he knew where.

" _Are women really that scary or where all the men I knew just cowards? Hmmm perhaps women just have a natural advantage over men or perhaps they all have something that makes them do what they want, and if that's the case and they do have some kind of trump card against us I wonder what it could be? Ah fuck it, I'm only 10 and something tells me this is something that will either go over my head completely or is better left alone at the moment"_ Tatsumi thought to himself.

' _Master?'_ Ran said since Tatsumi hasn't talked in a while.

"Anyway you say that like it applies to you, you're not human nor can you call yourself a women, you are a trident damn it!"

' _That's so mean Tatsumi, is that any way to speak to your life partner, your soul mate? And here I was going to offer myself up to you for being so understanding of my feeling in regards to the hair situation'_ Ran said in mock sadness.

"Would you cut it out with the inappropriate flirting and implications!? I'm only 10, doesn't that mean anything to you?" Tatsumi asked.

' _That hardly means anything to me, I can tell you're going to grow up to be quite the handsome young man once you get some gruffness to you and I'm going to be stuck with you for the rest of your life, so why wouldn't I just flirt with you now? Besides you never know, I might just be a shotacon"_ Ran replied.

"A-a what?" Tatsumi asked confused.

' _It seems you're still a little too young to know about such things huh? Oh well'_ Tatsumi could practically feel her say that with a shrug and a condescending look to match her tone.

"You know what I don't care, we need to go" Tatsumi said as he grabbed ran and left the shack to head for the palace.

 **XxXxX**

*clink*

"Another one please!"

*chew chew*

"So good~"

*clink*

"Hey honest can I get some more?"

"S-sure…go right…ahead" The portly looking man replied month agape at what he was witnessing _"And people call me a glutton"_

"Thanks!" Tatsumi said as he dug into 83rd plate that of food that consisted of his breakfast that morning. When Tatsumi met up with the small child who rules over the capital and the prime minister that also acts as his advisor, the two asked him if there was anything they could offer him as sort of an apology for the man that refused to let him in, in response to that he only had one request.

"' _while I'm here in the capital I want to eat the best food' is what he said at the time, I didn't think much of it at first and just agreed but now I might have to reconsider this deal"_ Honest thought to himself as put on his normal Cheshire grin _"I guess we'll just have to see how useful he is first, if he's a waste of time we could always kill him and take his teigu_ "

"I've heard about what happened and I'm sorry about the inconveniences you've suffered during your time here Tatsumi" The younger child emperor said to the gorging brunette.

"Think nothing of it your highness if anyone else tries to start something…" Tatsumi allowed his bangs to sink lower on his face casting a shadow over his eyes "I'll just…put them to rest" He regained his composure and looked back at the boy with a bright smile as he said those last words.

The child smiled back "Just try not to knock every soldier and recruit that picks on you out, we still need people awake to guard the palace and train" he replied back obviously not understanding what Tatsumi was implying.

"But of course your highness. Hey chef get me another plate!"

" _This child has some wit to him, perhaps he'll fit in after all"_ Honest thought.

' _That was pretty dark of you master, I didn't think you could act like that in front of someone younger than you'_ Ran commented.

"So what? If they continue to be a nuisance after everything that happened to them yesterday then they're obviously too stupid to understand that strength is different from pride and arrogance, if that's the case than they would die from their own foolishness sooner or later, so why not help them along? Tatsumi said under his breath to Ran.

' _You really don't like people treating you like your weak, I admire that, and you don't take any shit….well except from me of course'_

Tatsumi was about to repute her on that last comment when the door to dining hall they were in opened and the same blue haired girl Tatsumi met yesterday walked in. From a young Esdeath's perspective all she saw was a young child emperor who was still enjoying his breakfast, a fat pig of a man that still had crumbs in his bread and around his mouth, and a stack of recently used plate piled on the table near him, so with only those visual bit of information to go on she spoke.

"Well you're certainly packing it in earlier than normal aren't you Honest? Don't you typically wait till early evening to gorge yourself silly? And even then you normally don't eat this much, what happened did something stress you out?" Esdeath quipped with a devious smile plastered across her 13 year old face.

Honest gave the promising young warrior girl a dry laugh "Ha ha, if you must know it was are new recruit that made and is continuing to add to this mess" He clarified not losing his large toothy smile despite the blatant jab at his excessive eating habit.

"Huh?" sure enough the boy she met yesterday leaned back in his chair and greeted her with a good morning, is body being completely hidden by the pile of dishware moments prior.

"Morning Esdeath" he said after finishing the food that was in his mouth "did you come for the food too?"

She smiled at him shaking her head in the negative "Morning Tatsumi, but no I actually came here on orders from my commanding officer" she turned back to Honest "He was too lazy to come himself so he sent me to see if our squad had any more assignments"

"Unfortunately we do not have any more missions for your group to undertake at the moment, so you all are free to take a break until we come up with something for you to do" upon hearing this a slight scowl came on the bluenette before she swiftly banished it from her features.

"I understand, well if you'll excuse me" she turned on her heels and prepared to leave when she heard a loud sound.

*Clap*

"Thank you for this meal" Tatsumi put his hands together and gave thanks for his meal, before grabbing his trident that was leaning against the table and scooching out of his chair. He walked over to Esdeath "Let's go" before heading for the door.

Esdeath just looked at the boy walk ahead for amount before just shrugging and following his lead.

"So what was that about Tatsumi?" she asked him as she caught up.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Why were you eating with the emperor and the chubby minister?"

"Oh that? That was one of the deals I made with them yesterday, as apology for the inconvenience at the front gate and the fact they were going to look for me eventually and I decided to come here myself they asked me if there was any one request they could fulfill that I wanted" he answered.

"And that's all you wanted? Just breakfast for today?" she said raising an eyebrow.

"The deal actually is that anytime I'm in the capital they're required to feed me the best food breakfast, lunch, and dinner" Tatsumi reply with stars in his eyes thanking about what he'll be eating for dinner "why? Is it weird that I eat with them?"

"Sort of, That honor normally goes to people with more political power, nobles that visit the palace, and Higher ranking soldiers" 'Though from what I saw in there that slimy bastard probably didn't think a kid could eat that much, more than him from the looks of it, when he accepted that request' Esdeath thought to herself, she really didn't like Honest but he did give her place when she had none and recognized her strength even if he was using her in the end.

"So Tatsumi, I didn't get the chance to ask yesterday but why did you join the army?" she decided to through the question out.

"Why?" he put his free hand to his chin to give it some thought "well I had nowhere else to go really, my home was attacked and everyone was killed, I would have been to if my father didn't chuck me on a raft and set me a drift in the ocean. So with no home or people to go back to I become a wonderer for a year"

' _You mean you got lost trying to find this place'_ Ran corrected.

Tatsumi's eye twitched at that but he kept going nonetheless "well to make a long story short, I had no better place to be or go to and despite the rumors surrounding the capital or the conflicts it often gets itself involved in I came here anyway. I don't give a damn about the capital, their enemies, the internal conflicts they have, the rumors of corruption, or anything else I heard about on my way here and to be quite honest I think I'm way too young to worry myself about complex matters that don't directly involve me. I came here to have money in my pocket and a pillow to lay my head on and if all I have to do is join an army and kill what the capital deems are threats then so be it" the boy finished speaking.

Esdeath couldn't help but stare at the boy, not because what he said was weird or anything, but because the boy that was in front of her right now was so similar to her, even their reason for being here was almost identical.

"You and me are a lot alike y'know" She said to the boy.

"Really?"

"Yep, I actually came from the north and was a part of the partas clan, but like you, my clan was attacked and killed leaving me the only surviving member of our clan" She turned to look at him "guess that puts us in the same boat huh?"

"Yeah I guess your right"

"By the way, where are we heading? I just decided to follow you since you seemed to be on your way to somewhere"

"I have to have a skill evaluation before I can go through proper training, so I'm heading to the practice field to meet up with some guy named Budo" Tatsumi answered.

"Budo? As in General Budo?" 'That would be overkill for him unless…' she looks towards the trident in his hands 'of course the rumors about him' "say Tatsumi that weapons a teigu right? What does it do?"

"A wha-ooof" Tatsumi exhales as he bumps into something and falls over.

"Hmm?" exclaimed the person who Tatsumi just bumped into. She was a young women in her late teens (19 years old) that had messy white hair; a majority of which she kept and a braid that ran down her back, she had purple eyes, and a black cigarette hanging out of her mouth that she was about to light with the lighter in her hand. She wore a black zip-up jacket/skirt one piece that was broken up at her mid-section by a white belt, black high heel boot that went up to just below her knees, and a white trench coat. She also was carry what looked to be some strange rifle on her back.

"Hey watch where yo-" she turned around to see a small a the ground behind her "a kid?"

"Lieutenant general Najenda, I see you're back in the capital as well" Esdeath spoke to her superior officer.

Najenda turned to look at the girl standing next to the downed boy "Esdeath right? I heard you've made quite a few waves in your short time here, as for me, I just got back a while ago" she then turned her attention back to the boy on the ground "are you alright?" she afford a hand to help him up.

Tatsumi stared at her for a bit _"This women, she's not like the people I've met so far. I don't feel any hidden fear of something from her like I did from some of the people I saw out and about in the capital yesterday nor do I feel any twisted darker persona that could come out and stab me in the back at any moment like I felt from most of the soldiers I met. She doesn't even give me the same feeling Esdeath does, then again Esdeath seems to be unique in that regard as well, though how she is I haven't figured out yet'_ Tatsumi then proceeded to get lost in his own thoughts.

"Umm kid?" Najenda asked confused still holding her arm out.

"Oh! Sorry about that" Tatsumi took her hand and let her help him up "Thanks you"

"No problem" she said as she lit the cigarette that still hung on her lips and pocketed the lighter "but what's a kid like you doing here?"

"I'm actually a new recruit to the army and todays my first official day, the names Tatsumi by the way"

"They hired another kid huh? Pretty soon we'll be flagged by the people for supporting child labor" she said off handedly "Well my names Najenda and welcome to the force, I guess"

"Speaking of I should probably hurry, I wouldn't want to keep that Budo guy waiting" and with that Tatsumi hurry his pace to his next destination.

"Wait did he say Budo? Why would Budo be waiting for that kid?" Najenda said more to herself.

"Apparently that was who was assigned to evaluate him" Esdeath answered.

The cigarette in Najenda's mouth almost dropped at that "But he's just a kid, why would they have a general test his skills?"

"I don't know honestly and from what I've heard about Budo he'll be none too pleased about this at all. That being said I'm kind of curious how this is going to go down, so I think I'll go watch" and with that Esdeath raced to catch up to Tatsumi.

" _What are they thinking? Are they trying to get that kid killed?"_ she looked in direction she saw the two kids head off to. "…..ah damn it" and followed after them as well.

 **XxXxX**

The tension in the air in the practice grounds was so thick it was suffocating when Tatsumi arrived. The soldiers where all off to side staring at the one solitary figure standing in the center of the grounds quaking in their boots and for good reason, the man's very presents was intimidating. He stood over 6 feet tall, with short spiky blond hair with two long segments of it that flowed backwards on either side of his head that made him appear as if he had horns, and he had stern looking blue eyes that was set on a face that looked like it was set in a permanent scowl. He wore a black skin tight long sleeve shirt and white pants, however in a rare showing, he chose to not wear the armor he usually wears that completes his look opting to only have his golden gauntlets on his arms at the moment.

Tatsumi walked up to the imposing man and looked up to him, the top of his head barely reaching up to his knee cap "Are you Tatsumi?" he asked the child with trident in hand.

"Yes sir" Tatsumi responded instantly.

Budo turned and started heading somewhere else "follow" was the only thing he said as he went on his way.

And so Tatsumi wordlessly follow and apparently it was an open invitation because many of the soldiers that where cowering off to the side along with Esdeath and Najenda followed the pair as well. The decently sized group followed Budo into the woods a couple miles away from the capital.

"So…you're General Budo right? Why are we going all the way out here?" Tatsumi asked as the kept walking.

At first the man said nothing and kept pressing forward but with a deep grunt he responded "If you have want I assume you have in your possession then it would be prudent to not use such a thing near the palace"

"Hmm?" and so they kept going onward until they reached a large clearing that was surrounded by trees; The soldier, Esdeath, and Najenda who knew they weren't involved in what was about to happen standing off to the sides.

"Go stand over there" Budo pointed to the other side of the clearing.

Tatsumi nodded and did as he was told.

"So what happens now?" Tatsumi asks

"The emperor asked me to test you because he assured me that you would be of use to the capital, so show me what you can do, prove that you are not a complete waste of my time" Budo answered.

"So you want to fight?" he was already wearing a smirk on his face and putting himself in a combat stance that Esdeath, Najenda, and Budo all began to study as he did so. He held his trident in his right hand with the whole arm reared back and ready to stab through his opponent, his legs spread apart and bent and now that he had them tense up you could tell just how defined the muscle in them were, his free arm was the one that lead the front of his stance, and if you looked closely at his eyes you could see green electricity crackle off his pupils.

"A fight? Ha sure if you want to call it that brat then go ahead" one of the soldiers said.

"More like a slaughter, I should have brought popcorn" said another.

A simple glare from Budo silenced them quickly "Yes, go ahead and show me what your teigu can do"

"Teigu? I don't know what that is, but if you want me to show you what I got then I won't disappoint. Preparations start" and with that said Tatsumi charged straight for Budo.

" _A frontal attack? Foolish"_ Budo said as he just stood there and waited for the child to reach him but then he did something unexpected.

"Eat this!" He hurled his trident directly at Budo, its aim perfectly aligned with his face.

After seeing this Budo felt a vain in his forehead begin to bulge at the blatant disregard for his weapon _"Throwing away his weapon even more foolish"_

"What the hell is that kid thinking, if that is a teigu how does he expect to use it if it's not in his hands? Najenda exclaimed as she witness the foolish tactic.

Esdeath just continued to watch without a word, she showed no emotion on her face as she looked on, as if waiting for something exciting to happen.

Budo brought up his right arm to deflect the trident coming at his head, but has he his own teigu came in contact with the polearm he realized it took far more force to more it out of the way then he thought it would _"It's heavy"_

"Coming at you old man" Tatsumi said as he land a flying kick to Budo's chest, grabbing Ran out of the air in the process, but Budo didn't even flinch at the strike that was dealt "I guess that won't be good enough, then how about this" and then he brought up his other leg preparing to bring it down for an ax kick straight to the top of his skull.

As the child's leg came down however, Budo simply caught it with his free hand then he swung the boy once and tossed him away. Tatsumi was fast to react at the action taken as he point his trident at the ground and stuck it in, then using the momentum from the throw he flipped backwards and land on his feet. The maneuver look smooth and seamless, however it still wasn't fast enough as he felt Budo fist bury itself into his gut, Ran being dropped as he took the hit, and he was flung across the clearing a few meters away before skidding across the dirt and then final being stopped by a tree that cracked from the impact he came at it with.

"Serves you right, you little bastard!" one of the soldiers yelled as the others cheered, it would seem the only one that came were the ones that had an ax to grind with a 10 year.

' _And they call their selves men, pathetic'_ Ran thought to herself.

"I told you not to waste my time" Budo said in a slightly more irritated tone. He then turned his attention to the Trident that was now stuck in the ground in front of him and went to grab it when-

"Don't. Touch. Ran." He felt a presence at his back and was forced to block another kick coming to his head from behind with his forearm stopping the attack in its tracks.

"I told you, don't waste m-"

" **Thunderous Impact** **"** and with that a powerful current of wind surrounded his attacking leg and a small current of green electricity ran through it creating a small shock wave that stunned Budo as he was blown back by the force. Budo Dug his heels in the ground to prevent himself from being forced too far back, leaving trench marks in the ground as he did. In that moment all of the hateful soldiers stopped laughing and just stared in disbelieve.

"No way…t-that runt pushed General Budo back"

Najenda too was shocked at what she just saw "Even if Budo didn't activate his Teigu, to be push back by a child less than half his size should be impossible.

"Looks like things are going to be interesting after all" The second youngest member of the group there said as a grin formed on her previously neutral face.

Tatsumi gave himself a once over as he assessed the damage he just took moments prior "Damn old man you certainly didn't hold back did you? You broke serval of my ribs with that punch alone, then when I was rolling across the ground like a ragdoll my arm twisted in a less then natural way, and my back could be better after slamming against that tree"

He had scrapes and bruises from his impact with the ground and a broken arm, but the most odd thing about it was the fact that he didn't act hurt, like he didn't feel what just happened. Then all of a sudden around his injuries dark blue bubble could be seen forming and coming off of his body, his arm started twisting back into place and the scrapes and bruises began to disappear.

"I wasn't playing around or anything, I was just setting up the stage" Tatsumi said pointing up into the sky, Budo followed the boys finger and saw multiple floating orbs of water all around him "Preparations complete"

" _That attack he just hit me with and these water spheres, are they the work of his teigu? But how? It wasn't in hand when he knocked me back, even now he isn't touching it so how is he doing this?_ Budo thoughts were cut short as he heard Tatsumi call the name of his next attack.

" **Hazardous Rainfall** **"** and just like that the orbs of water began firing water bullets at Budo at high speed, like auto machine guns forcing the large man to dodge. Each bullet fire had a terrifying amount of force behind them leaving holes in the ground and tearing apart the surrounding trees bringing them down in the process. Now under fire Budo was effectively pinned down by projectiles, but he still didn't look all too concerned.

" _This is better, but not enough to warrant me having to train him"_

"I guess I should get in there to, it's boring just standing back" Tatsumi looked at Ran who was still stuck in the dirt "you don't mind waiting here do you? We wouldn't want this to be overkill"

' _Of course not, just remember your own limit'_ Ran told him.

Tatsumi gave a nod and turned back to Budo who was still dodging his water bullets effortlessly **"** **Storm shift-Air Gear** **"** The wind around Tatsumi began to pick up as glowing white shackles appeared on around his ankles, wrists, and neck; with the shackles on his ankles and wrists having a small wing jotting out of the sides of them and the shackle on his neck having a linked chain coming out of the back of it that seemed to be waving around in the air as if gravity didn't effect it or as if a powerful gust kept it from falling. Tatsumi's hair changed from its normal blown to a mint green and his eyes changed to light blue color.

"What just happened to him?" Najenda said as she saw the changes that occurred on the boy.

"*sigh* I'm ready" with seemly enhanced speed Tatsumi reached Budo's location avoiding his own water bullets as he pressed the attack farther "let's see how you handle this, **Thunderous Impact-Gale Barrage** "

Tatsumi then began to hit Budo in quick session with wind and lighting infused strike that put him in a position to get hit by the water bullets he was dodging moments prior.

" _From the looks of it he has control over wind, water, and just like me lighting, the strikes he's hitting me with are cover with a dense wind shell that he runs electricity through to create a sonic boom giving his attacks more power"_ Budo analyzed _"And he can do all of it without holding his own teigu"_

"Enough!" Budo then activated his Adramelech and created a shockwave that blew Tatsumi back and vaporized the water bullet bearing down on him.

"He can control lighting too!?" Tatsumi attention then went to the man's arms "Those gauntlets?"

"Budo actually activated his teigu" Najenda said as she continued to watch on.

"It would seem so" Esdeath answered. Although she had heard a lot about the teigus and had even seen a few she had never witnessed a battle between two teigu users before, this whole thing got her more excited then she thought she could be.

As for the soldiers that came along they just all stood there speechless as they witnessed what was happening.

"Those gauntlets of yours are what made that electrical shockwave aren't they, I guess they gave you power just like my trident does" Tatsumi commented.

"It's a teigu, Thunder God's Rage: Adramelech to be exact, and you should be proud that you managed to get me to defend with it" Budo then turned his attention back to the Trident that was next to the boy "However I have never seen your Teigu before or even heard of non-living teigu that could be used without it's user holding it."

"Her name is The Cry of the Storm: Ran and she hasn't aided me a single time in this fight. If she did we would have destroyed the clearing"

"What do you mean?"

"Ran stored a portion of her power in my body and that potion is all I can use when she isn't in my grasp"

" _So he's fused with his teigu?"_ Budo realized.

"That was only a portion of its power?" Najenda said in slight disbelieve, with everything she has seen it do thus far it was just hard to imagine it being more powerful.

' _Master your wind form won't be strong enough for this battle and I doubt water or Lighting will fear any better' Ran told him 'do you have any plans?'_

"Yeah actually" Tatsumi said as he pulled out a lighter "let's heat things up"

' _Lame'_

"Oh bite me"

"Wait that's…" Najenda then checked her pocket "That damn kid swiped my lighter!"

"Thanks for letting me borrow this" Tatsumi said as he waved over to her.

"You better give me that back kid!"

Tatsumi flicked the lighter on "Aren't you going to try and stop me?" he asked Budo.

"My job is to assess what you can do, so go on" he told him

Tatsumi shrugged "alright then, but just know once I do this you'll need to do more than defend. I'm going to get you to attack with those gauntlets" Tatsumi then ate the lit flame on the lighter then put it back in his pocket. The wings and the chain on his shackles started going black on their tips as if they singed, his hair turn blond in color, and his eyes were a burning red. Ran herself transformed too turning from a trident into a pitchfork that generated an insane amount of heat. " **Storm shift-Overheat** "

"Fire too huh?"

"Ran can create any type of storm, which of course includes firestorms" Tatsumi brought his right hand right in front of him "now burn **Flame Devil** " with a snap of his fingers a giant vortex a flame consumed Budo within it.

The sky started to darken over head as if a storm was about to come in _"That's not my work"_ Tatsumi thought to himself as he started flying in the air _"The old man's taking my shtick"_

" **Lighting Crash** " a bolt a lighting struck down the blazing vortex dispersing it and revealing Budo, his clothes were slightly burnt but other than that he looked fine. "Flight too I see"

"Now I'm the one mad you aren't taking this seriously" Tatsumi said slightly annoyed.

"I'm taking it as seriously as I need to at the moment" Budo told the child matter a factly.

"I see" then above Tatsumi's head in the sky formed large grey clouds that seemed to fight with Budo's dark black storm clouds for control of the sky " **Dying Phoenix Ash Rain** " slowly ashes started falling down from the sky like water on a rainy day hitting most of the clearing, as the ashes hit the ground a sizzle could be heard as they made contact. Budo covered his body in more electricity to combat against the burning ashes.

But Tatsumi wasn't letting him off that easy, he swooped down out of the sky towards Budo and began hitting with barrage of punches and kick all infused with flame. Budo block most of the hits, but the one that made it through left burning holes in his clothes. Tatsumi soon stopped his assault and backed away from him, his breathing slightly labored.

"It looks like you've about hit your limit" Budo said as he looked at the winded child "It must take a lot of stamina to use all the power you've been throwing out.

"*pant pant* it does…but I'm not finished yet" He smiled at Budo and pointed down to the ground.

Budo looked down and saw the ground he stood on surrounded in the ashes from before "I'm standing in a pile of soot what of it"

" **Firestorm-Phoenix Ash Flame Rebirth!** " the ashes on the ground all began to burn hot once more before bursting into a large fiery explosion of white flame, the steam and heat of the fire being so strong it made the storm clouds Budo made earlier produce rain. "I can feel him in the fire, he's still good to go. *sigh* No choice then" He raised his arms in the air and formed a giant ball of fire before condense it down into a palm sized ball of heat energy.

Budo busted from the flaming explosion, his shirt now completely burned off and burn marks showing on part of his arms and chest. As he saw the energy in Tatsumi's hand his eyes widened slightly before a rare smile graced his face. He brought both of his arms forward and quickly channeled energy through Adramelech creating and orb of black lighting in between them.

"So you're going to attack after all!?" Tatsumi said with a smirk on his face.

"It would seem you have forced my hand" Budo replied back.

The boy just closed his eyes and Chuckled a bit before returning his gaze back to Budo "then eat this" Tatsumi just let the energy heat ball float of his hand a few feet away, then when it was far enough away he charge his right hand in his green light point at the ball as if his hand were a gun before fire a current of lighting through it " **Twin plasma Railgun** "

A powerful beam of pure energy fired straight for Budo and at the same time Budo let loose his own attack. The two colliding forces pushed against one another trying to overpower each other before the two opposing attacks exploded sending a shock wave that blew everyone back. When the dust settled Budo was still stand and looking at a passed out Tatsumi.

"I can see now that those rumors about you may actually have some weight to them" Budo said as he looked around the mostly destroyed clearing with a nod "1 year, that all I'm willing to give this kid in terms of training, I'm for too busy to give more"

"No way…d-did that just happen" One of the spectating soldiers said.

"And we were trying to fuck with that kid? Insane."

"If he's holding the his teigu his attacks become stronger, which means that wasn't even his full strength" Najenda put another cigarette in her mouth and went to light it but forget that Tatsumi had stolen in all the chaos "That child is a monster… and a damn lighter thieve"

The entire time she watched what unfolded Esdeath couldn't help but become excited. The strength the boy showed had her heart racing, and intense gaze and wicked smile aimed straight at the downed boy that she's known for less than 2 days with the only thought going on in her mind being that she wants to fight him too.

"Esdeath" Budo called out to the girl.

"Yes sir!" she shouted answering his call.

"How long is your squad going to be stationed here?"

"For the foreseeable future until we are called onto our next assignment"

"Then you'll be this boy's sparring partner while here, understood?"

The smile on her lips grew farther "Yes sir"

"Good" he pointed at the down Tatsumi "Can you also take him back to his room? He won't be getting up anytime soon"

Esdeath simply nodded and picked the downed boy up off the ground while Budo pulled Ran, who had reverted back into her normal Trident form out of the ground.

 **XxXxX**

The next morning for Tatsumi was odder than the last. From what he could recall he blacked out after using his final attack and then nothing. When he awoke next he half expected to be on the ground in that same clearing or maybe in his own bed when it was all said and done. However when he opened his eyes he found himself in a room he had never been in before, in an admittedly more comfortable bed, with a blue haired girl using him as a body pillow. All of this lead to one question for Tatsumi.

"How?"

* * *

 **A/N:So there you have it, I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. We got a little more of what Tatsumi can do in this chapter and a fight that I hope was somewhat decent. For those that are curious when exactly this part is taking place, I'm going to say it's 7 years before the main story, which means the people who will end up in Night Raid later are still with the capital at the moment. Will Tatsumi meet them all before then? I have no clue yet. As for pairings *sigh* I wanted to leave that up in the air for a while longer to give the story some time to flesh itself out if I continued with it, but to the person that asked whether or not this will be Tatsumi x Esdeath know that she has the highest chance to be paired with him in this story and that's all I'm going to say about that. Well that's it for now, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review if you want, and I see you next time. seeya :)**


	3. Just a Dream

_**I'm back, sorry I was gone for so long, going almost 6 months without an update was not my plan, but life became busy for me and so writing had to take a back seat for a while. For those interested in what I was up to, I was working on my artwork and animation project along with making a DeviantArt and patron that are both still in the process of being tweaked. I also had college so there is that. The story has a new cover, since I myself am a visually inclined person and I figured some of you are as well so I drew Tatsumi as he currently looks in the story with his ponytail and hoody, this picture along with the others I've been working on will be on my DeviantArt which I'll post the link to in the next chapter; So the next update should be out soon. Fair warning nothing really important happens in this chapter as it is mainly a flashback of sorts for Tatsumi, but the next chapters that proceed it will advance the story much farther, at a reasonable pace of course. So with that out of the way, enjoy.**_

 _ **Chapter 2 – Just a Dream**_

Waking up with a light start, emerald eyes fluttered open as Tatsumi found himself in an _interesting_ predicament. Now said 10 year old was currently staring at the ceiling of the admittedly very lavish room with only one inquiry at the forefront of his still foggy conscious mind.

"How?"

A question that he asked himself more than anyone else as the only other person from whom he could receive the answer from was currently in the thralls of sweet slumber. He presently found himself in what he could only describe as a foreign environment, and by foreign environment he meant a bedroom that was far more posh and luxurious than the shed transfigured into impromptu separate living quarters that was his shack. He felt a myriad of sensations at the moment but the most prominent ones to stand out was a soft comfort, a warm touch, and oddly enough a chill in the air that was not at all uncomfortable as it managed to balance out the seasonal summer heat, the cover that cradled most of his body and the warmth that emanated off his current bedmate. Speaking of aforementioned bedmate, she and the place he finds himself in is where the origin of Tatsumi's question stem from.

Through his short existence, Tatsumi could wholeheartedly say he has rarely ever put himself a situation that was inherently compromising, _that was Ran's job,_ and she would do it out of boredom or just to get a laugh on most days. So when he found himself where he currently was he had to really stew on the position he was in. Tilting his up slight he was rewarded with the soft-featured face of the pale skinned girl, Esdeath; someone that Tatsumi was growing more convinced was going to soon become an ever constant part of his new life in the capital; For better or for was worst was of course yet to be decided. From the distance between them or lack thereof, Tatsumi could make out a content look that marred her face while also taking the chance to notice that his ponytail had been undone allowing brown to mingle with light blue as their locks lay sprawled out around them. Both of the girl's arms were bond around his neck as they pulled his head into her maturing assets which admittedly were ample enough to serve as a comfortable resting spot. One of her legs had wrapped itself around his waist and upper thigh and a cover lay atop about halfway up both their bodies. Basically she was using him as a pillow and from the peaceful sleep she seemed to be enjoying a comfortable one at that.

" _Well, this is happening."_ was his blunt assessment of his current predicament. Still, it just didn't add up, he thought back to that morning's events, from the time he woke up to the scant few hours he had until he passed out after his final attack in his skill assessment. He went over it repeatedly in his mind but no matter how he crunched it he just couldn't get how 2+2 had come out to equally 10, how it was possible for the short interactions he had with anyone that day to lead to this as the end result.

" _Welp, nothing to be done now, not like I could move anyway."_ which was absolutely true, not because he couldn't remove the girl who was currently pinning him down if he really wanted to, but because he literally could not move any part of his body, save for his neck. It was a form of 'punishment' for pushing his power to far, the lowest form he could receive for doing so; his body shutting down completely and then being paralyzed after waking up. It was annoying being stuck unable to move right after waking from a dreamless slumber, but it was leagues better than the price he pays for going beyond the first stage drawback.

" _I overdid it huh?"_ He thought as he reflected back to his match with Budo. If there was one thing he could say about it it was that he was easily outclassed. True to the objective of anyone seeking only knowledge out of something Budo's main goal in that scuffle was to observe Tatsumi's strength to gauge his overall potential, which he managed to do despite being an active participant in the 'fight' and the target of his assault in their exchange. He stood and took blows with little effort and blocked or dodged when it wasn't wise to do so; all with, from what Tatsumi could glean from his demeanor, minimal exertion on his part. Even when he activated those gauntlets of his, it was only because it was the wise course of action and not because he perceived Tatsumi as any real threat. Even with his final attack, Tatsumi could tell something was off. Using lightning himself in many different ways for both offence and defense he could tell just at a glance that the lightning armor he applied to himself would have been more than strong enough to handle his attack, yet, he chose to match Tatsumi's twin plasm railgun with a technique of his own, one that he put just enough power into to make sure the two colliding attacks would cancel each other out. Why was a question he was more than likely never going to get an answer too.

One thing he did know though was that had that been a real fight, had they been enemies on the field of battle, there would be no talking, be no time to prepare his assault, no time to pull out trump cards and switching between forms. He would be dead, even if he was not going all out and wielding Ran he could tell he would be shut down before he could even make an attempt had Budo's first instinct been to kill.

With a sigh, Tatsumi put away the topic for now as his mind wandered to something Ran told him before. It was after he had taken her and start on his journey to the capital during a time were the memories of that day were still very fresh in his mind. It was a lesson, one that Ran saw important enough to drill in his head, and one she had sought to teach in a 'trial by fire' sort of manner.

* * *

 _ **-1 year ago-**_

 _Screeeech…_

On the coast of an island that lie in the middle of the ocean somewhere some ways away from the mainland was a large avian danger beast that lay in a crumpled heap on the beach. It let out a low weak screech, impaled through its neck by Ran, not deep enough to kill it but she didn't need to be as she continuously coursed lightning through its body to keep it immobile.

' _You look so beautiful right now master'_ she gushed in delight despite the agony he was experiencing _. 'Like a wilting flower awaiting its next blooming season.'_

A little ways away adrift in the shallow part of the ocean by the island's beach was Tatsumi. He could not talk, could not see, could not hear, but he could feel everything and no matter how much he wish for his mind to give out, for there to be a reprieve to this anguish, none came. Floating in the water bloodied and broken and dying the sea red with his blood, was his emaciated from, but this state wasn't do to the danger beast, it was the result he got when he overused the power stored in his body. His bones felt as if they were being ground up, whole organs felt as if they were melting inside him, muscles ripping apart, all of this happening as his body healed itself and the haze of dark blue bubbles that signified the healing process wafted of his form and into the sky above. A continued hell of having to feel your body destroy itself in the worst ways imaginable only to heal itself at the same time repeatedly over and over again.

' _I bet you are curious as to why I made you do this?'_ she threw out a question she knew he could not answer at the moment, her playful tone still present even through his suffering. _'The answer is simple… the only power that you will be able to count 100% of the time is the power you yourself have at your immediate disposal.'_

Tatsumi attempted to glance in her direction through his pain, emerald eyes that were slowly reconstituting their selves managed to take in the tridents form before exploding in a mess of bloody gore. Ran noticed the brief exchange he tried to make and managed to guess what the child was attempting to convey.

' _Aww to think we've gotten close enough to the point where we only need just a look to understand what we have on our minds'_ she teased before her voice grew serious _'Tatsumi, you are only as strong as you allow yourself to be, though it is true that I am your weapon and that together we are stronger there is no guarantee that I will always be at your side. The moment I am knocked out of your hands that power will no longer exist, in short, it is false. However the power that is inside you is constant, every present, it is the strength you will always be able to rely on no matter the situation you find yourself in. The only way to gain more is to push past your limits and use the gift I've given you to the fullest.'_

She paused to allow what she said to settle into his mind. The power they had together isn't real? It sure feels real when they work in tandem with one another, but if there is one thing that Tatsumi learned about Ran, it was that she was a lot wiser than she'd let you believe.

' _So my dear sweet master, savior this pain, for through this pain and struggle you will grow stronger, through feeling this hell more power will be obtained. I look forward to seeing how well you'll grow from here.'_

* * *

" _Through pain and struggle huh?"_ He mused with a soft hum thinking about the power he held. If he hadn't lost village, his family, had he not suffered through that pain, Ran would not be with him today, so in a way her point was made, at least when it came to convincing him it was. However thinking back on it he couldn't help but think she had a deeper meaning at the time.

Tatsumi took the chance to glance at the window as best he could with his limited neck mobility, to see it was still dark out, probably early morning, maybe around 3 am? He focused back on Esdeath's soft breathing as he felt the continuous upward and downward movement of her chest in conjunction with her heartbeat in his ears. It was calming. So much so that he let his eyes shut once more and steadied his breath slowing allowing himself to lull back into slumber.

" _I'm not getting up anyway, might as well have a rest on my own terms this time"_

* * *

" _..tsumi…?"_

… _._

" _Tatsu…ear..e?_

… _._

" _Tatsumi!"_

" _Huh!" he jumped with a shrill shriek as he fell out of his chair a land on his behind with a thud and the clatter of wood hitting wood._

" _Geez kiddo, you spacing out on me again?" a man of impressive build with short yet unruly brown hair, a goatee, and deep blue eyes asked._

" _Ouch." he said rubbing his backside "sorry dad, I guess I did. What were you saying?"_

" _I said I was going for a haunt in a few minutes and asking if you wanna…"_

 _SWOOOSH!_

"… _.tag along…"_

 _In the blink of an eye the boy dash with comically fast speed, a dust cloud left in his wake and an after image of him where he stood, before returning back with his haunting and a supply bag on his person._

" _What are we waiting for? LET"S GO!"_

 _The older man couldn't help but smirk at his son's antics, as he prepared the last of his gear and made way for the door._

" _Someone's awfully excited today."_

" _Of course! Because today's the day I catch bigger game than you old man." He proclaimed puffing out his chest._

" _Suuuure, just don't be disappointed when you're old man comes out on top." Grabbing the handle to the door the older man couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something, then the room felt as if it had gotten a few degrees colder and a chill went up his spine._

 _Tatsumi didn't notice the sudden change in mood as he practically skipped towards his father and the door, only for him to notice a shimmering flow of silk-like blonde hair flit past his vision, and feel the sudden pain of something tug against his ear as he was forced to abruptly stop mid-stride._

" _Haru dear~" the women who had Tatsumi's ear in a vice practically sang with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face, her very voice making both males present pale "I know very well that you are aware that today his Tatsumi's study time~ now you wouldn't happen to be undermining_ _ **my**_ _plans for our son…" She exerted the effort to punctuate her question with a pointed glare directly into Haru's eyes, Lime green jewels promising a harsh punishment if the man so much as twitched wrong, let alone gave her an answer she was not satisfied with. "…now would you?"_

" _Oops, looks like I completely forgot haha…ah." Haru said as he tugged on the collar of his shirt and gave a nervous chuckle while avoiding the women's gaze._

 _The boy stared at the women, his mother, as she continued to fix his father with that icy stare of hers, making his dad involuntarily twitch every time her eyes looked him up and down. A long pause followed his father's statement as they all just stood there, the two men awaiting the women's verdict._

"…"

 _*whimper* *gulp*_

"… _..Silly Haru, you know we haven't changed his schedule, you big goofball you" She beamed as her once sharp eyes softened into ones fill with something akin to childlike wonder and she playfully slapped the man near 3 heads taller than her on the arm lightly as she released the grip on her son's ear. "Silly Haru!"_

 _A sigh of relieve was released as his father's rigid body lost most of the tension in it. "Sorry Yuno," He told mom as he turned to me. "Guess you have to wait till next outing huh kiddo?"_

" _Come on Tatsumi, I have 5 books with your name written all over them~"_

' _Knowing her she might have actually spent the time to write my name all over the cover of those books' Tatsumi thought as he looks at his mother's smiling face. 'At least she's in a good mood or dad might have had some broken ribs'_

 _*sigh* "geez mom, 5 of them today, that doesn't sound fun at alllllll~" he groaned before whispering "going out to hunt is way better."_

 _She must have caught it as she replied "Remember Tatsumi a foolish hunter can always be taken unawares by craftier prey, the roles can always be reversed. You're not a foolish Hunter are you?"_

" _No, that's dad." he said pointing to his father without looking in his direction._

" _Hey!"_

" _Exactly, which is why we're going to strive to avoid you being anything like your dunce of a father." She said as her smile grew even brighter._

" _HEY!"_

" _Oh, you're still here dear? Didn't you have a hunt to do?"_

 _The man's eye was twitching as the two people he loved the most were opening insulting his intelligence in his face._

" _I'm leaving!" he shouted as he opened the door with a slightly irritated look on his face grumbling "a man gets swallowed whole once and he never hear the end of it" referring to the time he did indeed get swallowed by a large danger beast before slamming the door._

" _Were we a bit too hard on him?"_

 _Yuno simply waved he hand at the question. "Your father's a big man, I'm sure he can take a few blows to his ego." She turned on her heel and beckoned him to follow. "Come on we've both got work to do."_

 _He stared at his mother for a moment as he tried to prepare himself for the mind-numbing task that was his 'study time' as she liked to put it. Yuno is a woman of slightly below average height and a very voluptuous figure with long blonde hair that goes down the length of her back and darkens into a yellow-green at its tips. She has eyes that are of a far lighter shade to his own with a complexion a shade or so fairer._

 _Her attire consists a cherry red dress shirt that is tucked into a black business skirt a bit higher up her waistline with a black bow tied in the collar, dark black leggings, black high heel shoes, and a freshly cleaned pure white lab coat. A women most would consider a beauty or as she would put it 'way out of his father's league' her most prominent facial features is a perfectly circular mole just under her left eye, thicker than normal eye brows that actually didn't detract from her looks, and eyes that when sharpened put a chill in the hearts of even a danger beast that faced her glare but when softened gave her an almost juvenile look._

 _A wave of her hand from her retreating form beckoning him to follow was all it took to break him out of his unenthused stalling, as he ran straight to for her back. As if already prepared for what was to come his mother simply took her abundant amount of hair and tossed over one of her shoulders into her front as she felt small hands latch onto her lab coat and climb up her back until a tiny hand and head peered over her shoulder._

" _Seriously since when did I start raising a monkey?" she commented as she gave him a slide glance._

 _Tatsumi blew a raspberry at her and she poked him in the forehead with a smile on her face in retaliation which made him return it with a toothy grin of his own. A book shelf about six feet in height near the back of their home is where they ultimately stopped. He watch as his mother lifted one of her hand up and began tracing a dainty finger across the spines of the books on a shelf that was eye level with her, it only stopping when it reached a book with a navy blue cover that was leaning to its side slightly as this particular shelf was not packed full enough to keep it from leaning. Her next actions were very meticulous, grabbing the book she had her finger on she placed it on the shelf above the one it was on previously 3 spaces away from the left side of the shelf then she grabbed another book off of that shelf that just so happened to be laying on its back and placed it on the lowest shelf only she placed so the book upside down, then she repeated the process several more times with some books being placed page out rather than spine out on the shelf, books being tilted to lean on others, and some being stack so that their backs were against the back of the shelf so that the cover would face you. One last repositioned book brought with it a clicking sound and the shelf began to sink into the floor revealing a metal door behind it._

 _The door opens up to a large stairway that would take them down to were they needed to go. As they made their descent Yuno dug into her pockets and pulled out three things a bag of gummy bears, a box of pocky, and lastly a hand full of lollipops._

" _Hungry?" she asked opening the gummy gears first._

" _Pocky and lollipop." He answered simply and said items were handed to him._

 _It didn't take long to arrive to their stop, a large underground research facility were his mother did most of the analysis for her field work. Unlike everyone else on the island she wasn't native, rather she was a researcher who came to study the bizarre weather patterns and varying species of danger beast unique to the island they inhabited. Supposedly this subterranean laboratory was of her own design and was funded on her dime, though Tatsumi didn't really ask how it came to be because it's been here for as far back as he could remember. Expensive looking equipment, an archive of data put to paper, and danger beast cadavers from which she would do dissections floating in glass containers in some kind of unknown liquid._

 _What was her true purpose? Did she do this to satisfy her own curiosity or was it more of a routine like task that had to be done? Tatsumi suspected the former considering how happy she looked doing her work and discovering anything new. Climbing off of her back he made way towards were he knew she left the books she wanted him to read, setting on a desk in an area that looked something like a library was the material that was picked out for him. He never knew what he would get because it was never told to him before hand, but more times than not the books covered varying education subject matter. Thus far Tastumi has studied mathematics as high as advanced calculus, science that went into physics, meteorology and advanced biology, history dating back to the times of the first emperor, and medical study that started off as basic but was quickly ramped up so much in level that by this point Tatsumi could be a certified doctor in any field of practice based solely on his knowledge and understanding alone; all of this at the tender age of 8. What attributed to this the most was the fact that he could speed read through most material given to him, only really needing a glance at a page to gather its information, and that he had a near photographic memory that retained the things that he read and allowed him to review it later in his mind._

 _1 hour of practically scanning over every page in the books assigned to him and a few brief summaries written down as his prove that he not only read but understood the subject matter given to him marked the end of what his mother wanted out of him. Taking the opportunity to stretch his arms upward over his head and take a deep breath tatsumi looked over his shoulder to take a look at what his mother was up to. The women seemed to moving with amazing speed between her multiple documents and a very large table with a huge danger beast strapped to it. Narrowing his eyes at the operating table Tatsumi could see the beast chest was heaving in up and down motion._

' _A live specimen?' he thought. Such things were rare as his mother preferred to work with most of her subject post-mortem, though she has dealt with live subjects from time to time._

 _After jotting down a few more things onto one of her clipboards she pulled a lever and the floor opened up next to the operating table, a low hum starting to sound as a glass case filled with medical equipment rose up; How she came up with the idea to have her tools rise out of the ground like that escaped him, but she did tell him that it involved some intuitive thinking and some literal inventing on her part. Now if only she could invent a way for them to get down here without taking an annoyingly long flight of stairs each time that would be great._

' _I wonder if she realizes yet that that's the reason I have her piggyback me kukuku' he said in his head, an evil laugh coming with the thought._

 _A repeated beeping sound flared as the case stopped raising and a foggy mist went off inside the case, a sign of the decontamination protocol going off to sanitize the equipment before use. She smiles as the case opened with what she would call a satisfying *Shwoooosh* -ing sound, again another impressive show of her mind as that to was something she invented for convenience sake. Her hand twitched in anticipation as she reached for something from the case but before she took the item she was reaching for she glanced in his direction and a smile bloomed across her face._

" _Tatsumi." She called as she waved him over._

 _Tatsumi made his way overtaking his time to glance at the beast on the table as he did, a giant iguana looking creature that clearing was brought into this lab from one of the many access point scattered across the island rather than the stairs they took to get here. Its color changed sporadically like it couldn't control what it was doing, a drag his mother pumped into it having some adverse effect perhaps? He couldn't linger on those thoughts for long as a file was thrust into his unsuspecting hands._

" _Go over that?" she told him as she stepped away for a moment to go over to her desk and grab her favorite snack, chocolate chip cookies and a large glass of milk._

" _You know you stopped growing a long time ago right mom? You're not going to get any taller by drinking milk." He said as he gave his mother a deadpan look his eyes focusing on the ridiculous amount of milk she was prepared to drink._

" _No one asked you and you never know, I might!" she pouted dipping a cookie in the milk before eating it. Despite how smart she was she never gave up on the notion that she could still grow just a little bit through drinking plenty of milk. "Keep talking like that and you won't get any."_

 _He closed his mouth at that, one thing he would admit is that his mother made some of the best cookies around, especially chocolate chip, so he bit back his next comment and decided to get back to the task that was literally in his hands._

' _Bile reaper? A creature that uses its sticky saliva to trap its prey, from there it creates a poisonous smug that it breathes into its victim. The poisonous substance slowly liquefies the internal organs of it victim, a process that could take a whole week to complete and is extremely agonizing for the one suffering through it. Once that process is done it then slinks its long tongue into its deceased victim's mouth and scoops out the gore it calls its dinner.'_

 _The true danger in this particular danger beast is its ability to camouflage its body near perfectly in any terrain which allowed to get the drop on most of its prey. Once you were caught in its saliva it was pretty much game over._

" _So what do you want me to do mom?"_

 _Another milk soaked cookie went into her mouth before she answered that. "I want you to dissect it *MUNCH MUNCH*, it produces some rare chemical in its body that can be extracted *GULP*, but you only truly get the chemical while it is still alive."_

 _A comically large bead of sweat falls down the back of his head as he watches his mother's sloppy eating habits at work, not that he was much better but then again he didn't have to watch himself eat._

" _Are you sure? This seems kind of important." He cautiously._

" _I trust your ability, I am the one who taught you everything about carving into flesh after all." She proclaimed as she proudly puffed out her bountiful chest and slammed her fist into it with a cat like grin, in fact, Tatsumi could have sworn cat ears and a tail sprouted out of her, the ears twitching and the tail happily waving as the claim was made. What she forgot was that she still had her glass of milk in hand, so when her fist made contact with her chest the white liquid was splashed all of her chest and began to soak through her shirt._

"…"

"…"

 _An awkward silence was shared between them with Tatsumi looking at his mother with narrowed eyes and lips pressed into a thin line (for those wanting more detail on this particular expression think Konosuba and the faces the characters make any time someone does or says something stupid in that show.) while the cat-like appendages on Yuno faded from existence and she stood there with the smile on her face before the color drained from her skin and she went into a panic._

" _My…my milk…" she said as she look down at her shirt, then the floor, then back to her shirt, and then finally to the glass that was now only a quarter full. Sob*_

" _Huh?" 'Was that just-?' but his thought was interrupted as…_

" _My poor millllllllk! *sob* now *sniffle* now how will I drown my delicious chocolate chip cookies in its milky goodnessssssssss!" She whined/yelled as she crumpled to the ground on her knees lamenting her lost beverage, an aura of depression surrounding her._

" _You could, I don't know, pour yourself some more milk?" He off handedly suggested._

 _Yuno, while still looking at the floor with her cheeks puffed out, raised her only slightly filled glass of milk. "Can you?" she said in a small whisper with a melancholic tinge to it._

 _*Sigh* Tatsumi quickly relented while walking over and taking the glass out of his mother's hand. A quick walk over to the large fridge and short refilling of the glass with the dairy product later saw the older women instantly snap out of her funk. Carefully setting the glass down safely on the desk she swiftly lifted him up in a bear hug, joyful tears streaming from her eyes and her face nuzzling against his own._

" _You're the best Tatsumi! Truly the greatest son a mother could ask for! Hmmm~" she cooed in his ear._

" _It's just milk mom." He deadpanned at her ridiculousness._

 _This exchange lasted for a few more minutes before his mother settled down and they got back to what they were originally about to do. With the assistance of a stool, Tatsumi was staring down at the beast easily bigger than his mother and himself combined, its skin was still flittering between an array of colors and upon closer inspection it eyes would blink very slowly within long intervals._

" _First things first, were going to start by flaying off the skin." She told him very nonchalantly before digging into another cookie._

" _I thought our goal was some kind of chemical, why waste time flaying the skin off?"_

" _Tatsumi, Tatsumi, Tatsumi" she started while shaking her head. "Although it's true that the chemical is the main goal of this little endeavor we must not forget that this is still a fresh research subject that we have free reigns to study_ thoroughly." _She said putting emphasis on the last word. "And as scientist our job is what again?"_

" _To study the unknown and to dive into the realm of infinite possibility."_

" _And right now said unknown is fresh samples taken from this live specimen, just think about, if we can gain a special chemical while extracting it while it's alive then just think of what else we could get while harvesting other parts."_

 _Tatsumi gave a slight nod of understanding before pulling out a large, flat edged medical knife so sharp it looked like it came clean of a whetstone. With no hesitation on his part he placed a gloved hand on the top of its head and took the knife to its jaw at a very practiced angle. The moment the blade touched flesh and drew the slightlest trickle of blood he dragged the knife towards himself, rending flesh as he did, even with the sedatives in its system the bile reaper still found enough strength to convulse at the pain of having skin peeled off, however Tatsumi didn't let it bother him much as he adjust the blade with its frantic jerking not once letting it cut any deeper as the first stripe of flesh was stripped away. Interestingly enough it stilled changed color even with it being detached from its host, an observation his mother swiftly jotted down._

" _Heh, mom?" He started casually as he began to sink the knife into flesh once more._

" _Hmmm?"_

" _What did you do, before this I mean?"_

" _Ara, like my work?"_

 _He nodded._

 _In a far too exaggerated fashion, Yuno crossed an arm under her chest and placed her elbow into her hand as she place a finger to her bottom lip with her other hand. The only way he knew she was truly giving his question any real thought is the fact that she didn't answer instantly as she opted to close her eyes and think in a sagely manner._

 _Lime green eyes slowly opened up to regard him once more. "I never did tell where I came from did I?"_

" _No, but dad did say you weren't from the island."_

 _She nodded. "I see…" she took a sip of her milk "..well, I come from a wealthy family, very wealthy, that live in a province right outside of the imperial capital. Had I so wished I could have lived my entire life doing nothing but living the life style that came with such wealth, but…" she trailed off._

" _But?" He encouraged her to continue._

 _*Sigh* "BUT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SOO BOOOOOOOORRRRRRING!" she shouted at the top of her lungs._

" _Uh…" He was now giving his mother that 'you're acting crazy look' but she wasn't paying attention._

" _I mean seriously, who wants to spend their enter lives sitting on their high horses and thumbing their nosing at the less fortunate while they wipe their asses with their tax money? Social outings with snubs? Push and horridly garish everything within eye sight? Looking down at even other rich people if they so much as have a penny less than you? Boring. Boring. Boring. Everything about that life style just didn't mesh with me."_

 _A calming breath was taken, it seemed just thinking about that situation riled her up in a negative way, despite how hard that may have seemed considering she sounded like a child having a tantrum as she said it. Wait wasn't she the adult in this here? Oh well._

" _My passion was discovery, learning and building, that's what I wanted to do…..and shockingly my parents supported that goal." She continued with a strained smile, there was something else there that was being left unsaid, but he didn't press his mother on it. "Oh good, your done cutting the skin off the stomach area, cut into it and remove one of its internal organs without killing it like we practiced. It shouldn't bleed out with the doping it received."_

 _For style Tatsumi gave the knife a quick twirl between his fingers before cutting the belly open, not even flinching or halting his action as blood sprayed on the side of his face. The little bit of flare earning him praise as he ended up receiving a thumbs up from his mother. "You were saying?"_

" _Well, with the money given to me I bought my own supplies and started doing things like we're doing now, of course on a far more minuscule scale. During that time I was more into tinkering with machinery than I was into biological work, I spent most of my time designing a making inventions."_

" _Like with some of the upgrades in the lab?"_

" _Yep!" she beamed. "However my talent eventually caught the eye of the…. A certain group." Her tone grew serious with that. "They hired me …. And for a time it was fun, but I didn't have the freedom to do as I pleased even though all the equipment I could ever need was right in front of me. That, and… what they desired of me was not what I wanted to be stuck doing all of my life, so I quit after sometime."_

" _What did they have you do?" He asked._

" _I tell you what they didn't let me do, which is have some time to make what I wanted!"_

" _And what did you want to make?"_

 _At that her eyes sparkled and she ran to the other end of the lab, evidently that question had lit a fire in her. While she was off grabbing something, he assumed, he managed to free the liver out of the beast he was dissecting. It was still alive, the thrashing it did being prove of that, but that was of no concern to him. Danger beast were their island's main so source of economy with the fishing trade coming right after it and some of the best pieces of these creatures that could be sold were only obtainable when they were alive. Going on haunts with his dad ever since he could walk, even if he wasn't actively helping at that time, and learning how to cut into danger beast through his mother when helping her in the lab ensured that he saw such things as normal. The rushed steps of high heeled shoes on the floor was the sign of his mother's return from her brief reprieve, several pieces of parchment in hand, some rolled up being held under her arm and others held close to her chest, she was practically vibrating in place, stars in her eyes, and blinding bright smile shined toward him._

" _First of all, do you see those stairs over there?" she point to the long flight that was taken to get to the lab._

" _Yeah?" Tatsumi answered and questioned simultaneously._

" _Fuck those stairs!"_

 _Tatsumi jerked at that sudden declaration, almost messing up an incision._

" _Those damn things are the bane of my existence, walking down them every time I want to reach my lab Ugh!" she said in disgust. "However image if you didn't need to walk down stairs to get down here, what if the stairs moved up and down for you or if there was some automated pulley system that took us down at the click of a bottom?"_

" _That would be…..convenient." He said still trying to figure out what she was getting at._

" _Exactly! It would make life easier and make moving through multiple story building simple. You see what I wanted to do, what I really wanted to do, was create things that made living easier….and create the other wacky things my brain could come up with."_

" _So why don't you? You still have money to buy material so why not invent stuff here?"_

 _Her face grew glum. "Because *sigh* because the stuff I would need would draw to much attention, the material I would use is also used by…the capital…to make their weapons and other equipment. To buy all I would need and have it shipped here would get attention, attention I'm not sure I want to be brought to me."_

" _Oh." He couldn't say he understood, but from the look on his mother's face he could tell it was depressing to her or at the very least bummed her out slightly._

 _She looked down at her papers. "All of these are plans for things I wanted to build, ideas that needed to be scraped unfortunately." She brought her face back up to look at him, determination clear in her eyes. "However one day things will change and I'll go through with these ideas of mine. So what do you say Tatsumi, feel like helping your mom out with her crazy ideas?"_

" _Since when did this become some sort of business pitch and proposal?"_

" _Hmmm, I d'know." She said with a shrug. "So what will it be?"_

 _She knew he couldn't say no to her, not only because she was his mother but also because her excitement was infectious and often got others on board with her plans no matter how crazy they could be at times._

" _I'm in, it sounds like fun."_

" _That's my boy, I'll turn you into a mad scientist yet Hahahaha!" she stated with a boisterous laugh that followed._

" _Not foolish like dad, but crazy is okay?"_

" _Hey, everyone is a little crazy y'know, in fact, the crazier you are the better, it keeps you from being a boring person or dear I say *nervous gulp* normal."_

 _Tatsumi found himself laugh at that, those would be words that he would keep with him for the rest of hislife, and that promise…. Well, it would be one to go unfulfilled. After that they went back to work, continuing to indulge in conversations ofvary topics as they did and at the end of it all Tatsumi got to eat his mother's delicious chocolate chip cookies. It was a better time._

* * *

Eyes opened once more, the light of the day was now shining through the window and illuminating the room, and thankfully he had regained the feeling in the rest of his body during his slumber; which only made the next moment a bit awkward for him. At some point while he was out he moved in his sleep and wrapped both of his arms around the girl with whom he shared a bed with and to make matters worse said girl was currently staring at him with a smile on her face and a glint in her eyes.

"It's about time you got up sleepy head." Esdeath said, clearly having been up at least for a few minutes before himself.

Tatsumi slowly unwrapped his arms from around her, a light tinge of red dusting his cheeks as he lifted himself up and let the cover drop from his body. A bare chest was exposed as he did so which forced him to become aware of his state of dress. When you wear as few clothes as Tastumi does you become painfully conscious of what you do have on and at the moment that was only a pair of boxers.

" _Fresh boxers?"_ he thought and now that he thought about it his hair smelled of shampoo and his skin had no dirt or soot on it at all from his fight. Eyes widened at that. _"She didn't…"_ He turned his head to face the girl next to him who was now getting off the bed, the only thing covering her modesty being a slightly over sized shirt, evidently she liked to sleep mostly naked.

"We have a long day today so let's get ready." She stated as she walked over to a wardrobe.

"Esdeath."

She turned to look at him. "Yes, Tatsumi?"

"Explain."

 _ **A/N: like I said nothing really big was done in this chapter unless for some reason you guys were curious about his mom then in that case you're welcome ;). All of that aside, I decided to do this chapter because I feel like I established something sort of important to Tatsumi's character and that is despite the fact that he's still so young he is smarter than a kid his age typically is. He looks at things with a critical eye and thinks things through...most of the time anyway. I could have done this whole story with this chapter omitted, I mean you would get to know how he acts through his actions, known the way he talks through reading his dialogue and figured out his motivations through the story itself, but I felt that it was important to know why he is the way he is in the present portion of the story and although I could have said Ran was the one that influenced him it would have felt like a cop-out to me, not to mention it would have seemed like Ran was the one dictating his actions and with her being an OC that's a big no-no.**_

 _ **Besides, I don't know if you guessed it or not but I had a ridiculously fun time writing Yuno's character. By the way, I did indeed name her after Yuno Gasai from Future Diary and even almost considered making Gasai Tatsumi's last name, but it never came up.**_

 _ **Anyway, that's it for now, the next chapter will have more substance to it I promise. Feel free to Review or PM me and as always see you next time.**_

 _ **Dear god, I'm going to need a Beta soon, so many small mistakes because I don't check my work before hand. :/**_


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